Recipe of the Week: Fish Tacos

I like fish and I like tacos; however, I have never branched out and tried fish tacos. For some reason, that just seemed weird to me. Luke has raved about the ones he's tried at restaurants though, so when I saw this super-easy recipe in my Better Homes & Gardens magazine, I had to give it a shot.

Fish Tacos with Lime Sauce
1 lb. fresh tilapia or catfish fillets (I used frozen tilapia fillets from Sam's Club)
3 limes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. chili powder
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 small (6- to 7-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 small carrots, peeled & shredded (1/2 cup)
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, thinly sliced

1. Rinse fish and pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
2. For Lime Sauce, juice two of the limes into a bowl (cut remaining lime into wedges for serving). Stir mayonnaise and chili powder into juice. Remove 1/3 cup sauce and toss fish in it.
3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil over medium heat. In shallow dish combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working with about a third of the fish at a time, toss in flour mixture and add to hot oil. Cook 2 to 4 minutes or until fish flakes, turning to brown evenly and adding additional oil as needed. Drain on paper towels
4. Wrap tortillas in paper towels; heat in microwave 30 seconds. Top tortillas with fish, cabbage, carrots, and jalapeno. Drizzle with Lime Sauce. Pass lime wedges. Makes 4 servings.

(Check out the BHG recipe for a prettier picture, complete with lime wedges.)

I was pleasantly surprised with how these tacos turned out! The tilapia isn't very "fishy" tasting, and the breading was light. The cabbage and carrots add a nice crunchy texture as well as lots of color. The simple, creamy lime sauce is a good balance of citrus-y and spicy. And if you like your food hotter, you can just add more jalapenos. Frying the fish was the most time-consuming part, so next time we might try grilling it instead. When I made this over the weekend, it was already a balmy 80 degrees inside our house, so heating up the kitchen didn't help matters.

All in all, this is a tasty -- and economical -- summer meal that I would recommend if you want to try something a little different!